The European Parliament,

–   having regard to its previous resolutions on Afghanistan, in particular its resolution of 5 September 2002(1),

–   having regard to the Bonn Conference on 4-5 December 2001 which set out a schematic roadmap and timetable for establishing peace and security and for the reconstruction of Afghanistan,

–   having regard to the Commission decisions of 30 October 2002 and 19 December 2002 granting additional humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, bringing the overall amount of European Union aid to EUR 265 million,

–   having regard to the Presidency declaration of 22 December 2002 on the Kabul declaration,

–   having regard to the adoption of the European Union budget for 2003,

A.   whereas more than one year has passed since the launch of the process in Bonn and welcoming the efforts made by the people of Afghanistan and by its government to restore throughout the country the harmony needed for lasting peace to be established,

B.   whereas improvements are being made in security and stability in major parts of the country, and an Afghan National Army and Police Force are being formed, security concerns remain in parts of Afghanistan, in particular those which are still in the hands of warlords and where the Afghan Transitional Administration (ATA) has no full access,

C.   whereas there is evidence of the existence of residual terrorist networks in Afghanistan and Pakistan, which are potentially very dangerous for the whole region and the rest of the world,

D.   having regard to the election by the emergency Loya Jirga by secret ballot of President Karzai as Head of State and the establishment of the ATA, which has taken over the conduct of state affairs in order to rehabilitate the country and strengthen and promote stability, democracy and prosperity in Afghanistan,

E.   welcoming the undertaking made in Kabul on 22 December 2002 by all of Afghanistan's neighbouring countries not to intervene in its internal affairs,

F.   whereas the ATA has established a number of institutions which could be the basis for a democratic development, such as the Human Rights Commission, the Central Bank, the drafting committee as a precursor to the Constitutional Commission, etc.,

G.   convinced that, following more than two decades of war and violence, it is important that allegations of human rights violations and war crimes, particularly at Mazar-I-Sharif, are investigated as quickly as possible and those responsible punished,

H.   whereas the situation of women and girls gives cause for concern in large parts of Afghanistan and particularly in Herat, where under the rule of the local governor, women's and girls' freedom of expression, association and movement and respect for their right to equality, work, education and physical integrity steadily deteriorated throughout 2002,

I.   whereas more than 600 people are held in United States military custody at the naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and elsewhere without charge or trial or access to the courts, lawyers or relatives,

J.   regretting the lack of real coordination between the various organisations working for the United Nations, representatives of donor countries and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the Afghan Government,

K.   whereas economic reconstruction remains an important priority as part of a concerted international effort aimed at bringing long-term stability to Afghanistan, which requires donors to come forward with contributions to advance this goal,

L.   whereas long-term political, social and economic efforts and the support of the international community are necessary, in particular, assistance in re-establishing political and judicial institutions and police forces, demobilising and reintegrating armed factions and taking measures to safeguard respect for human rights,

M.   deeply concerned about the resumption of illegal drugs cultivation and trafficking,

1.  Stresses that the international community should continue to lend the requisite support to the re-establishment of the political, judicial and security institutions needed to restore the authority of the government and the rule of law;

2.  Calls for an enlarged mandate for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to give greater support to the ATA in its efforts to bring peace to, and maintain control over, the whole of the Afghan territory, in order to ensure long-term stability in the country and prevent the outbreak of regional confrontations as well as geopolitical instability;

3.  Welcomes the budgetary efforts undertaken by the Commission and the Member States; however, deplores the fact that no major European political role corresponds to this financial support;

4.  Calls on the Member States to actively contribute to the training of an Afghan National Army and police force and to the rebuilding of the judicial system and of a legal framework for effective human rights protection and for the improvement of women's condition and calls in particular on the Commission to extend its cooperation to the Afghan Human Rights Commission (AHRC);

5.  Reaffirms the EU's commitment to the stability and the reconstruction of civic institutions in Afghanistan, and expresses its support for the efforts of the government of President Karzai to achieve national reconciliation and internal and external security in Afghanistan;

6.  Calls on the ATA to promulgate a decree to introduce the separation of civilian and military security roles on all levels in order to limit the functions of the local and regional military commanders combined with additional civilian administrators answerable to Kabul;

7.  Calls on the Commission and the wider donor community to continue to cooperate with the Afghan Government in promoting rapid progress in the areas of health and education and in assistance in all fields so as to achieve rapidly tangible progress, and to ensure that assistance does not benefit regional leaders rather than the population in need;

8.  Underlines the legitimate expectations of the Afghan people, who still fail to see a significant improvement of their living conditions, especially in the fields of health, education, water and sanitation and demining, which should constitute the priority of the rehabilitation programmes;

9.  Emphasises, in this connection, the priorities set by the Afghan Government: development of human resources, creation of economic infrastructure and reinforcement of the capacities of the government institutions;

10.  Reiterates its call for a well-coordinated programme of mine action, including assistance to mine victims, to be put in place as a matter of urgency with the full support of the Afghan Government and the international community;

11.  Calls on all sides to fulfil the remaining provisions of the Bonn Agreement and for the drafting of a new constitution and preparations for free and fair elections by June 2004 through which a broad-based, gender-sensitive, multi-ethnic and fully representative government can be established;

12.  Calls for a swift, objective investigation into all human rights violations and war crimes; calls on the United Nations to increase its human rights monitoring presence around the country; appeals to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) to raise publicly human rights problems with regional leaders, to publish detailed reports of alleged abuses and to pressure these leaders to repeal restrictions against women;

13.  Calls on UNAMA and the AHRC to investigate human rights conditions in Herat and throughout Afghanistan pertaining to women's rights and calls on ISAF forces to assist the AHRC in its work;

14.  Calls on the UN Commission on Human Rights special rapporteur on violence against women and on the special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan to visit areas of Afghanistan where women and girls are being subjected to human rights abuses;

15.  Welcomes the Declaration on Good-Neighbourly Relations signed by the Transitional Administration of Afghanistan and the governments of China, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in Kabul on 22 December 2002, and calls on the governments of Afghanistan's neighbouring countries to cooperate unreservedly, so as to entirely dismantle the remaining terrorist networks constructed by Al&nbhy;Qa'ida and the Taliban forces;

16.  Calls on the new government and the governments of the neighbouring countries to take all possible measures to fight organised crime and drug production and trafficking, this being an essential precondition for stability in the region;

17.  Is concerned about the lasting problem of warlords operating in the country and believes that joint efforts by Afghan security forces and international military forces should be increased to stamp out the warlords" activity, and calls for a halt to all kinds of support to regional and local commanders;

18.  Calls on the United Nations and the donor governments to find just and coherent criteria for repatriation schemes for Afghan refugees who are facing an uncertain future and have to deal with different policies operated by hosting countries and humanitarian agencies;

19.  Calls on the Council to reconsider the repatriation of Afghan refugees and to take into account the lack of any infrastructure on the Afghan side;

20.  Reiterates its call on the US to clarify the situation of the prisoners at Guantánamo Bay and take the necessary steps to ensure that basic safeguards are in place for all those in its custody; while recognising the US Government's obligations to take effective security measures when dealing with cases affecting the safety of the public, recalls that the Government also has the obligation to ensure that any such measures do not compromise fundamental human rights safeguards under international law and standards;

21.  Deeply regrets that there is currently no real cohesion between the activities of international organisations, governments, NGOs and the Afghan Government, and calls for consideration to be given to the creation of a fully-fledged reconstruction agency;

22.  Requests the Conference of Presidents to consider sending a delegation of Members of the European Parliament to Afghanistan next spring;

23.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the United Nations and the governments of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, the United States of America and China.

(1) P5_TA(2002)0407.